American Oil and Gas Reporter - August 2018 - 124

ConventionSection: Petroleum Association of Wyoming

Wyoming Works To Reduce
Basis Differential
By Dan Holder

legislative updates will be on the agenda
when PAW holds its annual convention
and trade show, Aug. 22-23 at the Ramkota
Hotel in Casper, he says.
The improving global market for oil
and gas will not pay off for Wyoming
producers until the region's basis differential eases, asserts PAW Chairman Paul
Ulrich. If the association, Wyoming producers, legislators, the incoming governor
and others understand the industry's
market challenges and attack them in a
coordinated effort, he predicts that differential may shrink during the next few
years and increase Wyoming's competitiveness in the energy sector.
"Of course, the markets are fickle to
say the least," observes Ulrich, director
of government affairs for Jonah Energy
LLC in Denver. "From our perspective,
finding ways to add value to Wyoming's
oil and gas production, reducing supply
costs, increasing incentives and developing reasons for companies to invest

CASPER, WY.-Mineral resource extraction remains the backbone of
Wyoming's economy, with the state collecting $2.1 billion in revenues in 2016
from the industry, chiefly coal, oil and
natural gas. As coal's role in power generation shrinks and gas endures a supply
glut, the Petroleum Association of Wyoming
points to oil's increasing importance.
According to state statistics, oil production jumped 16.1 percent year-overyear in the first six months of 2018,
while Wyoming's gas output increased
4.3 percent and coal fell 1.7 percent. Oil
and gas employment in the state grew by
900 jobs during that period, reaching
12,100 workers in May.
PAW President Bruce Hinchey says
Wyoming continues to support its energy
sector, with legislators working during
the 2018 session on changes to tax laws
to promote oil and gas activities. State

more capital in Wyoming will help significantly. In the long run, it will take a
serious effort to find better, longer-term
solutions to reduce that differential and
keep it reduced."
Ulrich points to proposed liquefied
natural gas export terminals and new
pipelines moving gas to Mexico as only
two examples of how new markets could
impact Rocky Mountain producers.
"Wyoming's pipeline infrastructure is
more than adequate to meet that demand
growth," Ulrich assesses. "The challenge
now, versus where the state was 15 years
ago, is the competition with gas produced
much, much closer to markets, i.e., the
East Coast and the Mid-Continent. We
are seeing a lot more competition in those
areas than in the past."
Legislative Activity
Budget deficits were the overriding
concern for the 2018 session, with media
reports pointing to a $684 million gap

PAW Annual Meeting - Casper, Wy.
Wednesday, Aug. 22
7 a.m. Breakfast Buffet, Ramkota Hotel,
Terrace
7 a.m. Trade Show Opens
8-11:30 a.m. PAW Committee Meetings
Government & Public Relations, Taxation
and Membership Committee, Teton Room
Bobby Ralston, Anadarko
Joe Milczweski, Black Hills Corp.
Jack Blomstrom, True Companies LLC
William Perry Pendley, Mountain States
Legal Foundation
Environmental/E&P, Transportation and Safety Committees, North Room
Nancy Vehr, Air Quality Administrator
David Waterstreet, Water Shed Protection
Manager
Bill DiRienzo, WPDES Section Manager
Matt Todd, API Director of Environmental
Partnership/Angela Zivkovich, Anadarko
State Senator Affie Ellis
Don Burkhart, Chairman of PAW Safety
Committee
Public Lands Committee, Wyoming Theatre
PLC Meeting
Bret Sumner, Beatty & Wozniak
Angela Bruce Habitat Protection Program
Supervisor, Wyoming Game and Fish

Department
Mary Hopkins, Wyoming State Historic
Preservation Officer, Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office
Gary Beauvais, Wyoming Natural Diversity
Database
11:30 a.m. Buffet Luncheon
1 p.m. PAW PAC Golf Tournament, Casper
Municipal Golf Course
Central and South
6 p.m. Chairman's Reception and Dinner

Thursday, Aug. 23
7 a.m. Breakfast Buffet, Ramkota Hotel,
Terrace
7 a.m. Trade Show Open
7:45-10 a.m. Seminars
Taxation, Government and Public Relations
Committees, Teton Room
Dan Noble, Director, Department of Revenue
Jeff Vogel, Director, Department of Audit
Environmental/E&P and Public Lands Committees, Wyoming Theatre
Bob Budd, Executive Director, Wyoming
Wildlife Natural Resource Trust
Mark Watson, Supervisor, Wyoming Oil
and Gas Conservation Commission

124 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

Mike McGrady, Policy Adviser, Wyoming
Governor's Office
Jason Crowder, Assistant Director, Office
of State Land and Investments
Mary Jo Rugwell, Wyoming State Director,
Bureau of Land Management
Tyler Abbott, Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish
& Wildlife Service
10 a.m.-Noon General Session, South and
Central Rooms
PAW Chairman's Report
Election of PAW Board of Directors
Report from Wyoming's Congressional Delegation
Senator Mike Enzi (Invited)
Senator John Barrasso (Invited)
Congresswoman Liz Cheney
Susan Combs, Holland and Hart
Noon-1 p.m. Buffet Luncheon
Keynote Speaker: Governor Matthew Mead
1:15 p.m. Board of Directors Meeting, North
Room
Board Members Only
5:30 p.m. Cocktails
6:30 p.m. Annual Toolpushers Supply Company BBQ, Crossroads Park
All Meeting Attendees Invited

American Oil and Gas Reporter - August 2018

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